Category: Vaccines

What PPSV23 actually is You might remember this one from an older label, Pneumo 23. These days doctors just call it PPSV23, short for pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine. It protects against a bacteria called pneumococcus, which can cause pneumonia, ear infections, and in worse cases, meningitis or blood infections. Here’s the part that trips a lot of parents up. PPSV23 is not the vaccine babies get on the standard schedule. That’s a different shot, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine most infants and toddlers already get as part of routine checkups. PPSV23 works differently and it’s aimed at a much narrower group of

If you remember hearing your pediatrician mention “Pneumo 7,” that name is old news now. The original 7 valent pneumococcal vaccine hasn’t been used in the United States since around 2010. Kids today get a newer, more protective version, and it’s still one of the routine shots on the standard childhood schedule. The vaccine has changed a lot since Pneumo 7 Pneumococcal disease comes from a type of bacteria that can cause some pretty rough infections in little kids, including ear infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and meningitis. The first vaccine against it, PCV7, protected against seven strains of that bacteria,

Is there actually a plague vaccine your kid could get Short answer, no. Not right now, not in the US anyway. If you came here worried about scheduling a plague shot for your family, you can relax on that front. There isn’t one to schedule. The plague vaccine used to exist here, but it’s not available anymore. The CDC says plainly that a plague vaccine is no longer available in the United States, and newer versions being developed in labs aren’t expected to hit the market anytime soon. So this isn’t a vaccine that fell off a recommended schedule or

What The MMR Shot Actually Covers MMR stands for measles, mumps, and rubella, three diseases that used to send a lot of kids to the hospital before the vaccine came along. Measles is the one getting the most attention lately, and for good reason. Cases have been climbing again, with the CDC tracking over 3,000 confirmed infections in 2026 alone, most of them tied to outbreaks. It’s not a reason to panic, but it’s worth knowing that measles spreads incredibly easily and can lead to pneumonia or, in rare cases, brain swelling. Mumps causes fever and those puffy cheeks from